4 • Residenal Electric Water Heater Use and Care Guide
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
To reduce the risk of property
damage, serious injury or death,
read and follow the precauons below,
all labels on the water heater, and
the safety messages and instrucons
throughout this manual.
RISKS DURING INSTALLATION
AND MAINTENANCE
Electric Shock Risk
Contact with the electrical
parts in the juncon box
and behind the access
doors can result in severe injury or
death from electrical shock:
• Disconnect power by opening the
circuit breaker or removing the fuses
before installing or servicing.
• Use a non-contact circuit tester to
confirm that power is offbefore
working on or near any electrical
parts.
• Replace the juncon box cover and
access doors aer servicing.
Liing Risk
WARNING! The
water heater is heavy.
Follow these precau-
ons to reduce the risk of property
damage, injuries from liing or impact
injuries from dropping the water
heater.
• Use at least two people to lithe
water heater.
• Be sure you both have a good grip
before liing.
• Use an appliance dolly or hand truck
to move the water heater.
RISKS DURING OPERATION
Scalding Risk
This water heater
can make water hot
enough to cause
severe burns instantly, resulng in
severe injury or death.
• Feel water before bathing or
showering
• To reduce the risk of scalding, install
Thermostac Mixing Valves (tempera-
ture liming valves) at each point-
of-use. These valves automacally
mix hot and cold water to limit the
temperature at the tap. Mixing valves
are available from Lowe’s®. Follow
manufacturer’s instrucons for instal-
laon and adjustment of the valves.
• The thermostat(s) on this water
heater have been factory set to
approximately 120°F to reduce the
risk of scalding. Higher temperatures
increase the risk of scalding, but
even at 120°F, hot water can scald.
If you choose a higher temperature,
Thermostac Mixing Valves located
at each point-of-use are parcularly
important to help avoid scalding.
For informaon about changing the
factory thermostat seng(s), refer to
the “Adjusng Temperature” secon in
this manual (see page 15, step 10).
Even if you set the water heater
thermostat(s) to a low seng, higher
temperatures may occur in certain
circumstances:
• In some cases, repeated small draws
of water can cause the hot and cold
water in the tank to “stack” in lay-
ers. If this happens, the water can
be as much as thirty degrees hoer
than the thermostat seng. This
temperature variaon is the result
of your usage paern and is not a
malfuncon.
• Water temperature will be hoer if
someone adjusted the thermostat(s)
to a higher seng.
• Problems with the thermostat(s),
or other malfuncons may result in
higher than expected water tempera-
tures.
• If the water heater is in a hot envi-
ronment, the water in the tank can
become as hot as the surrounding air,
regardless of the thermostat seng.
• If the water supplied to the water
heater is pre-heated (for example,
by a solar system) the temperature
in the tank may be higher than the
water heater’s thermostat seng.
To reduce the risk of unusually hot
water reaching the fixtures in the
house, install Thermostac Mixing
Valves at each point-of-use.
If anyone in your home is at parcular
risk of scalding (for example, the elder-
ly, children, or people with disabilies)
or if there is a local code or state law
SAFETY
Temperature Time to Produce
a Serious Burn
120°F (49°C) More than 5 minutes
125°F (52°C) 1½ to 2 minutes
130°F (54°C) About 30 seconds
135°F (57°C) About 10 seconds
140°F (60°C) Less than 5 seconds
145°F (63°C) Less than 3 seconds
150°F (66°C) About 1½ seconds
155°F (68°C) About 1 second
